Tag Archive | Las Vegas

Kaiseki Sanga – Las Vegas, NV

Jun30

Kaiseki Sanga is a omakase restaurant that Chan was really excited to try. Unfortunately, this was at the peak of Chan’s food poisoning spell. This restaurant is one that requires a deposit to make the reservation and there is a fee if you don’t cancel with at least 24 hours notice. So…we had a big dilemma. What ended up happening was Chan’s friend and I decided to go dinner to avoid the fees and explained to them about our third diner being out. The restaurant was very nice and understanding about it but wished that we had given them an earlier heads up and just requested that we go for the alcohol pairing and didn’t charge the no-show fee. I don’t drink alcohol but Chan’s friend could definitely do it up, he enjoyed every thoughtful sake pairing they had! The cost of the kaiseki was $250 per person.

The night’s spread before the meal started – yes, you already know this meal will be pricey…

Amuse
Amadai (Tilefish), Hokkaido Uni, Tofu Skin

Appetizer
Sakura Mochi with Ma Tai / Kani Chawanmushi / Hataru Squid / Hotate / Cuttlefish with Miso

Soup
Cherry Salmon, Goma Tofu, Edamame

Sashimi
Aka Ebi with Caviar, Chu Toro, Hirame

Grill
Sawara, Bamboo Shoots

Turf
Wagyu, Iberico Pork

Akami

Ma Aji

Wagyu

Anago

Otoro

Negitoro with Uni

Red Miso Soup

Dessert
Strawberry Ice Cream and Warabi Mochi

Matcha Tea

All in all, it was a wonderful meal. I did however miss Chan too much to enjoy it, really wished he could be with us to enjoy it. It is a bit pricey but I guess you are paying for the high quality imports from Japan. It’s a very small restaurant, just enough seats at the main bar to serve maybe 10 people or less? I can see why they have to be serious about no-shows. Would love to experience this place with Chan one day in the future!

Spam Musubi Rating:

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Mixed Plate Friday

Jun20

Trader Joe’s Shrimp Seafood Burgers

I didn’t have access to a grill or a pan with cooking oil so I just baked them. These were okay, edible but nothing great. I think it would definitely taste better on a grill!

Trader Joe’s Uncured Turkey Corn Dogs

My likes for sausages continue (please, no jokes). Wanted to try the turkey corn dogs, couldn’t taste the difference – it was good! Heated it up in the oven with our leftovers from night one (curly fries and long john silver’s).

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Eggslut – Las Vegas, NV

Jun18

Probably our only trip to the Vegas Strip this time around and it was to try Eggslut! This is my first time trying it and I wasn’t expecting much but it actually was quite good! They are located in the Cosmopolitan hotel. They have a super long line but don’t worry, it moves quite fast! They are more of a take out place but there is some hotel seating areas…and it does seem to clear up as you pick up your food!

Truffle Hashbrowns | $6.00
duck fat, truffle and rosemary salt

We got two sandwiches and two sides of hash browns! The hashbrowns were so good. How could they not be??

Fairfax Sandwich | $11.00
Add bacon | $3.00
cage-free soft scrambled eggs, chives, caramelized onions, cheddar cheese, sriracha mayo in a warm brioche bun

Chan super enjoyed this sandwich, but gotta add the protein. The person in front of us was actually telling us this one was a dud but Chan was happy he didn’t listen. He would definitely get it again!

Gaucho Sandwich | $16.50
seared prime tri-tip steak, cage-free over medium egg, chimichurri sauce, red onions and dressed arugula in a warm brioche bun

Of course I had to go bougie on my choice, no can even tell an egg was in this sandwich – was too focused on the meat. It was delicious!

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The Black Sheep – Las Vegas, NV

Jun16

The Black Sheep is a newish restaurant Chan found online that we tried! This was the meal after Chan finally bounced back from the food poisoning spell so he definitely kept playing it safe. This restaurant is located down by the Durango so I was happy about that too lol.

S. Pellegrino

Chan has been doing a lot of carbonating of drinks lately which got me to realize that I also like plain carbonated water! So instead of alcohol, I downed this whole bottle. Forreal.

Fried Beef Crisps | $9.00
thai chili tajin dust, chili lime sauce

I’m going to assume this is some kind of beef fat? It is deep fried but comes out super airy and crispy not crunchy. My complaint, it was SO salty. Hard to enjoy.

Oxtail Empanadas | $15.00
pickled shallots, lotus root slaw, coriander chimichurri

Pretty good! Not that you can tell it’s oxtail inside but I liked it. One of the better dishes of the night.

Salmon Skin Tacos | $12.00
two salmon skin tacos filled w/salmon tartar, tobiko, anaheim peppers, micro cilantro

Okay, I don’t even remember this dish so either it was junk or I didn’t even eat it. I don’t know how I feel about entire salmon skin being your taco shell. But if that’s your thing, have at it!

Steak Tartare | $14.00
asian pear, egg yolk aioli, beef crisps, pickled thai chili, julienne green onions

I almost forgot what this dish was! They serve their steak tartare on top of the fried beef chips. Heh…like I said, it was salty…

Braised Pork Jowl | $29.00
tumeric flat noodle, chinese broccoli, sesame seed crumble, chili broth

This was good, the pork jowls was of course super soft and tender. Tasted good but nothing special. Another soupy dish I wish I had a bowl of rice for lol.

Special Duck Confit

This one was also just an okay dish, the duck wasn’t spectacular in taste or anything. I enjoyed the couscous and veggies below better. I guess this shows me that I prefer Chinese roast duck above all other preparations.

This restaurant was just okay to me. The service was good but the food was a bit underwhelming.

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Mixed Plate Friday

Jun13

Happy Aloha Friday! No food in this post. Just a few pics from the Vegas Strip. I’m not big on being on the strip, too much people and too expensive. I remember the days when parking used to be free at the hotels, now they all charge minimum $20-$25 which is insane. Also, no validation even if you dine at their restaurants! Check out some pictures from the Bellagio! They say Vegas is slow now but dang, you wouldn’t know it if you were here! Enjoy.

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Sparrow + Wolf – Las Vegas, Nevada

Jun9

Another visit to Vegas, another success. This is one of the meals Chan and I look forward to most. I lose out the most because we are helped by an awesome sommelier – unfortunately I don’t drink. He did try to include me by giving me a non-alcoholic drink which I enjoyed a lot! It was like a tea infused champagne. Don’t worry, I still got my mocktail! Second visit to Sparrow + Wolf, this restaurant will be a forever visit as long as Nick the sommelier works there. For my first visit, go here. Let’s get to it!

Sage Me From Myself (proofless) | $12.00
cold pressed blueberry, raspberry, pineapple, and fennel bulb
scented with sage and lemon

Delicious as always. $2 more this year but what can you do. Still good!

Peruvian Steelhead Trout | $23.00
ikura roe, koji mango, ninja radish

Nick basically takes care of us all night and orders all the food for us to pair with various drinks. I thought this was salmon but as you can see it is trout! This was good! Such interesting ingredients…

Oysters on the Half Shell | $27.00
cold pressed rhubarb, strawberry, opal basil flower

They really mix the most interesting ingredients to create one dish, and I think I would not order these dishes if I saw it myself on the menu. Good thing Nick knows what he’s doing. I haven’t had a bad dish yet!

Hearts of Palm | $21.00
spring peas, kizami wasabi, cucumber blossom

This was good, very pretty but nothing super special.

Grass Fed Beef Tartare | $22.00
confit egg yolk, grilled ciabatta

Mmm beef tartare, one of my favorites as you know. Good dish!

Steamed Clams | $26.00
green curry, peanuts, thai chili preserve

Oh this was so nice. Nice spicy curry – wish I had a big bowl of rice to sop up all the clams and sauce!

Foie Gras | $28.00
milk bread, pineapple, onion chili compote, mole blanco

Okay, this wasn’t quite as memorable since I had foie gras the day before. But the grilled pineapple added a nice acid to the rich foie gras!

BÁNH CUÔN | $20.00
ground duck, wood ear mushroom, habanero, coconut

Another great dish that I wish I had a bowl of rice for! Nice and spicy, so good!

Lumina Farms Lamb | $46.00
artichoke, saffron, matbucha, almond, vaduovan, lamb jus

I love lamb and this was good, but there was a protein that blew my socks more so below

Charred Broccolini | $16.00
green goddess, black garlic, fines herbes crumb

What a wonderful way to eat broccolini! I loved it! Yet another dish I probably wouldn’t order on my own.

Black Pepper Honey Pork Secreto | $38.00
sweet potato banana puree, peanut nuoc cham

Here’s one of the best dishes of the night! A humble pork dish but the flavors were amazing, still waiting on that bowl of rice lol

Vietnamese Coffee
maracaibo cremeux, coffee ice cream, black okinawa sugar, condensed milk espuma

Yes, we had some room for dessert at the end. Don’t worry, the three of us shared this. It was very nice, I enjoyed this deconstructed take on vietnamese coffee!

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Mixed Plate Friday

May23

No visit to Vegas is complete without a visit to Ikea (and Trader Joe’s)!

Swedish Meatballs (ftw!)

Breakfast Plate with Pancakes
served with eggs, potatoes and bacon and swedish pancakes and lingonberry jam

Did you know they had breakfast plates? I didn’t! Their pancakes are more like crepes. The jam is also located at the ordering counter and they don’t give it to you automatically so you gotta ask! This was Chan’s breakfast, he liked it fine.

Here’s a picture of a random Chinese take-out I did while playing nurse at the hotel. Thank god we got a hotel that came with a full kitchen and washer and dryer. The kitchen came in very handy. The food was alright, do you see the top right? That’s honey walnut shrimp. It’s like sitting in a mayo soup, it was quite odd. The food was not bad, not great either.

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Shang Artisan Noodle – Las Vegas, NV

May21

Shang Artisan Noodle is one of the restaurants we gotta go to every time we’re in Vegas. The location in the Durango Casino and Resort is the easiest for us since it’s slower and we can gamble afterwards. Durango is probably my favorite casino right now, it’s nice and bright and doesn’t feel too smokey.

Spicy Wonton | $11.85
pork wontons with spicy soy sauce, green onion

Always a great dish. They usually take longer to make this than your noodles, just as a warning.

Shang Beef Noodles (Spicy) | $17.82
beef & chicken broth (brown), braised beef brisket, veggies, green onion

Shang Beef Noodles (Mild) | $17.82

Okay, so I wanted to make big body and order spicy like Chan and started regretting when I was ordering lol. The waitress was very nice and said she can give me the spicy sauce on the side so I can add as much as I want. That’s very nice of her!

LOOK AT THAT. I don’t know if you can tell how big and deep this bowl was but this was like quarter cup of straight chili oil. That’s crazy. I did not use that all lol. I think I will stick to mild next time.

NOODLE PULL!

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Sea Salt Live Sashimi – Las Vegas, NV

May19

Chan found Sea Salt Live Sashimi and we were all excited to try it out! Although, Chan does think this meal is what did him in. Poor thing…there was one item that neither me or his friend ate so he assumed it was that. I wonder if Chan would still go back to this restaurant, you know…I think he would! They were kind of slow the night we went, I hope they get more business so they stay open!

Assorted Banchan

Salad and Dipping Sauce (samjang?)

This salad was like…dressed with soup. It spicy and sweet dressing but there was SO much of it. Salad soup lol.

Cheese Corn

Steamed Egg

Veggie Pancake

Gosh, I gotta ask Chan what this was again. Maybe like a pumpkin soup? Super thick and starchy – super sweet. Never had this served to me mid-meal before.

LA Kalbi

So, I didn’t know how this restaurant worked but since we only got sashimi – I wanted a side dish of something meaty so we got this LA Kalbi, Was good, basic. If I knew what else the meal came with, I would have never ordered this!!

Sashimi Combo (Halibut and Assorted Sashimi)

Raw Abalone

Look at how fancy this is! This was definitely a show. It took quite a while for them to serve up both dishes but I think Chan told me they kill the live seafood and then prepare it. I guess the name of the restaurant makes sense, Live Sashimi. Haha, delicious! Both were stellar, super fresh seafood and great quality.

Rice with Assorted Tobikko

So yeah, these dishes came out way after we were almost done with our sashimi. I was super confused.

Assorted Tempura

We were dying from being so full already…

Soft Tofu Stew

This was the last dish! Man, I kind of wish this was served with the food in the beginning. I really didn’t know what was coming out so this was all crazy. So. Much. Food.

Nurungi (Scorched Rice)

I’m not a fan of this particular dish and honestly I was so full that I didn’t even touch it. Great meal, enjoyed that we had our own booth so we had some privacy. If you come here, be prepared to EAT.

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Mixed Plate Friday – Trader Joe’s Edition

May16

Peanut Udon Noodle Salad

Meh. Just okay, not great.

Lemon Basil Pasta Salad

Not good.

Truffle Mousse Pate

Yes. A million times yes. This one is made with chicken. Since Chan was not feeling well, I ate this entire thing over the course of the trip. Yeah. I did. Ate it with some golden round crackers (think Ritz Crackers). No regrets here. Chan told me probably get this kine in Hawaii but I haven’t tried it locally yet. IT WAS GOOD AND A GOOD PRICE AND I LOVED IT.

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